


The Moon Beckons

by CosmicCthulhu



Series: Tales of full moon nights [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Auror Draco Malfoy, Blood and Injury, But just a little, F/M, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Ministry of Magic Employee Hermione Granger, Post-Hogwarts, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:40:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28130310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CosmicCthulhu/pseuds/CosmicCthulhu
Summary: Hermione and Draco investigate a case of missing livestock in a muggle village.Rated T for language and some violent descriptions.
Relationships: Hermione Granger & Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy
Series: Tales of full moon nights [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2060808
Comments: 9
Kudos: 75





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> English is not my first language, and this work is unbeta'd so all errors are my own.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Harry Potter franchise.

“I have a job for you.” Said Mr Collins, an old, short man, that was currently the Head of The Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Hermione lifted her head from the documents she was currently revisiting to listen to the task she was going to be assigned.

“There’s a tiny muggle village in the Scottish Highlands that’s currently getting bothered by a nondescript beast for about six months now. There haven't been any human attacks, but the livestock is getting snatched away during the nights.”

“And we have reason to believe it’s a magical beast?” Hermione asked. “Could be just a common thief.”

“There’s far too much blood and scratch marks on the fields to be a simple muggle problem.” The man shrugged with a frown. “Regardless, it’s your job to find out, report it and take care of the issue. Alright?”

The witch winced at the sharp tone of her surly boss. “Yeah, I can do it.” She said weakly. 

“Good. I’ll arrange the portkey for you and your assigned auror for tomorrow morning. I’ll send the details of the case before the lunch break, so keep an eye out.”

“Assigned auror, sir?”

“Yes, just a formality.” He bit in annoyance. “The chances of you being attacked by this beast are low, but not zero, it’s better be safe than sorry.”

“Of course. Thank you.”

The door that led to her tiny office was closed with a loud thud. Mr. Collins probably rushed off to The Department of Magical Transportation to flirt with the young secretary recently hired. The muggleborn scoffed at the older man, and continued to read the drafts she was working on before he had showed up.

Soon enough, one of the secretaries of the Beast Division knocked on her door and delivered the papers that detailed her job at the village. The case wasn’t particularly interesting: some stolen sheep during some odd nights, with only traces of blood in the morning as proof that an attack had occurred. Some villagers reported sightings of a large shadow lurking in the woods nearby and described hearing howls and barks during the night. “Probably a Black Shuck, then”. By the lack of details, it was clear that whoever made the initial reports for the case wasn’t too interested in the case to scout out any real descriptions of this beast.

She sighed, feeling bored. Her job at The Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures didn't meet her expectations at all. 

Sure, Hermione knew she was still just starting out, so it was bound to get some monotonous tasks before she got to do the fun stuff ( _ like drafts for the liberation of house elves or legislation to further protect werewolves _ ), but she was an ambitious woman, and notably impatient, so sue her for being unhappy with her current position of her new job.

With a sigh, she stretched and continued on her task of proofreading her draft of Werewolves’ rights legislation she was going to present to Collins at the end of the month. Even though she knew the man wasn’t even going to read it. ‘ _ If you think that taking down a Dark Lord two years ago is enough to warrant you my place as the Head of the Department, you’re very mistaken, young lady! _ ’ He told her one day, when she tried to present the man a reviewed draft of the House elves' Rights Bill.

\-----

The next morning, Hermione paced the Ministry halls, directing herself into her boss’ office to reach the portkey that’d get her to the Scottish village. 

She carried with her a small suitcase with some comfortable clothes stored inside, but also brought the small beaded bag that never left her side, packed with healing potions, food, and spare clothes, as well as other items, just for her own peace of mind ( _ a habit developed during the war and that she probably wasn’t going to let go so soon _ ).

When she arrived at the office, she was surprised to see Draco Malfoy comfortably seated into her boss’ expensive chair, with his feet propped up on the table. He was dressed in his aurors robes and had his unmistakable smirk plastered on his face.

“I take you’re my assigned auror, then.” 

“That is correct, Granger.”

Hermione gave a noncommittal shrug in his direction. “Just don’t get on my way while I’m working and we’ll be good.”

After the war was over, she and Malfoy returned to Hogwarts to finish their education, and there, the pureblood had apologised profusely to the muggleborn ( _as well as to their teachers and classmates, of course_ ). During their 8th year, a tentative truce had been reached, with both students deciding that it was best to move on from their turbulent past. They even occasionally studied and paired up for projects together, having agreed that, as the two top students of their class, they’d do better working together rather than against each other, allowing their friendship to flourish.

But he was still Draco Malfoy, and she was still Hermione Granger, which meant that they both argued, bantered and teased each other relentlessly, which could potentially slow her down during this new mission.

If Malfoy was going to respond with a snarky commentary of his own, Hermione would never know, because the creaking sound of the office’s door called for both of their attentions.

“Ah, good to see you’re both here.” Said the nasally voice that belonged to her boss. “Well then, here’s the portkey. And here’s the address of the muggle inn you’ll both be staying. Remember to do everything in your power to not draw attention to yourselves. We don’t need to deal with the hassle of obliviating muggles, right, Miss Granger?”.

She grimaced at the dig the infuriating man did. Much to Hermione’s dismay, it was a common knowledge that she had obliviated her parents’ memories during the war, and wasn’t able to reverse the effects, leaving them in Australia to live the rest of their lives as a childless ( _ but still healthy and happy _ ) couple.

“Right, sir.” She muttered.

Draco buffed subtly, as if he was also offended by the comment the Head of the Department made, but said nothing in return. He straightened himself up and grabbed his own suitcase, walking alongside Hermione so that they could activate the portkey and be on their way to this remote muggle village. 

“Come on, Granger.” He said. “There’s no time to waste.”

\-----

They arrived smoothly, in the middle of the woods, painfully aware they couldn’t just apparate into their designated inn. The cold morning air surrounded them, and Hermione quickly regretted not wearing her bulkier woolen coat. 

“Hurry up!” Draco said, grabbing both their suitcases. “I don’t fancy freezing my arse off in the middle of the woods.”

“Me neither.” She said, picking up her pace so that she could catch up with her partner’s long stride. “Now remember, this is a muggle village, Malfoy!”

“You think I don’t know how to interact with muggles?” Malfoy asked, with a raised brow.

“I KNOW you’re awful at interacting with muggles!”

“That’s ridiculous, Granger! I changed a lot since the war, you know that!”

“That’s not what I meant.” Hermione grimaced a little and shook her head. “But you have to remember that once you asked a muggle teenager if Spider Man was a god and if he was his worshipper.”

“That wasn’t my fault!” Malfoy scoffed. “You had left me alone in that blasted book store and this kid just started spewing out facts about a supernatural arachnid! I had the right to be confused!”

“Well, sure.” The brunette relented. “But change your auror clothes, and stick to our plan! We don’t want to draw out any attention!”

With a disgruntled sigh, the man transfigured his thick navy robes into a more appropriate coat. Hermione nodded in approval, motioning that they could both move on to the village.

After a quick trek, they could see the remote town in the middle of the hills, with a dense forest in the distance, and plenty of sheep and cows grazing at the grassy plains. 

Hermione and Draco made their way up the cobblestone streets at the edge of the village, in which they were informed there was the inn they would reside for the week. The witch could hear the wizard groaning in irritation when he saw the dilapidated and rather small building, and nudged him with her elbow to stop his complaining. They stepped inside, both frowning at the smell of dust and mold in the air.

“How lovely.” Malfoy remarked, with his usual sarcasm dripping from his voice.

“Hullo dearies!” An old, plump lady said with more enthusiasm than either of them could attempt to return.

“Ah, hello!” Hermione started, plastering the best smile she could. “You’re Mrs. Oakes, correct?”

“Indeed, lassie!” The lady beamed. “And you must be Mr. and Mrs. Norfolk! It’s always a joy to meet such a young and beautiful couple!”

“Thank you, Mrs. Oakes.” Hermione replied. “Can you direct us to our room?”

“Of course! Follow me!”

The trio climbed the old and creaking wooden stairs, and passed a narrow corridor adorned with several old paintings of flowers. Malfoy and Hermione followed the tiny muggle woman into the last door at the end of the hallway, and suppressed their sneezes and coughs when the collected dust fell over them, after the door had been forced open by the woman with the rusted key.  


“Here you go, dears!” She said with a wide smile, opening the door wider for the couple to peer inside the room. “Enjoy your honeymoon!”

The room was atrocious. 

Hermione had to elbow the auror on the stomach to stop him from barking out a sarcastic comment about the state of their room to the sweet old lady that had accommodated them. But even the muggleborn couldn’t deny that the room they’d have to stay for ( _ hopefully only, if not less than _ ) a week was lousy at best.

There was an ancient-looking armchair, with holes in the fabric, showing bits of the stuffing. A tiny round table with one broken leg and a greenish stain that only God knew what it was. A rather large and ornate oak closet, damaged by termites, and lastly, a single moderately sized bed, with stained blankets and yellow pillows. ‘ _ I am going to murder Collins as soon as I get the chance! _ ’ Hermione thought bitterly.

The little old lady retreated back into the reception room, after notifying the faux couple that breakfast would be served at 10 a.m. and that if they needed anything, they could just pop into the reception desk and her grandsons would deal with it. “It would be a pleasure! We don’t get many visitors around here, and my boys are always interested in meeting new people.”

After the ancient wooden door had been closed shut, Draco and Hermione stared at each other, not saying a word. After a minute of silence, Malfoy huffed, throwing his suitcase on the floor, near the three-legged table.

"Just so you know, I'm not sleeping on that decaying armchair. And I’m not a dog, so I won’t sleep on the floor either." Malfoy crossed his arms with a huff.

"Why would you sleep on the armchair? Or the floor for that matter?" She asked, bewildered.

"There's only one bed, Granger. So you either cozy up in that disgusting tick-infested thing, or we have to share it!"

"This is a muggle hotel, you dolt!" The muggleborn laughed, dividing the bed in two with her magic. "there are no anti transfiguration charms in place."

“Oh" Malfoy breathed, and Hermione could have sworn he flushed for a millisecond. “I knew that.”

They settled themselves quickly on the room. The blond wizard peeked inside the bathroom and whined something about it being ‘ _ the tiniest and murkiest loo he had ever seen with his poor eyes _ ’ but Hermione had already blocked out all the whimpering the taller man was certainly going to make throughout their entire stay.

Not wanting to waste a single second, the auror and the ministry worker climbed downstairs to venture into the small village. Hermione couldn’t deny that the visuals were enchanting, much different from the bustling and haughty wizarding London, with small stone houses, flowery gardens, surrounded by the picturesque scenery of mountains and a clear lake.

\-----

They passed the lively produce market that nestled on the centre of the town, nearby the small church so that they could ask some subtle questions about the recent livestock attacks.

Hermione was making small talk with a vegetables vendor, nothing too relevant to the case, just some comments about a few fruit and vegetables being looted by a petty thief, which prompted Draco to turn elsewhere, in search for other possible witnesses.

A little girl, maybe five or six years old, clumsily stumbled on the wizard’s legs, falling to the ground with a thud. Draco nervously bent down to help the girl up, cringing at the skinned knee she now sported, and the watery eyes and possible meltdown she was going to have. ‘ _ We don’t want to draw out any attention! _ ’ Granger’s words echoed in his mind, as he cooed and comforted the little girl, trying to remember how muggles dealt with bruised knees. 

‘ _ Don’t suppose a five year old is good at keeping secrets. _ ’ he thought in disgruntlement, as he weighed the options of just surreptitiously casting a healing spell, and then begging the girl to stay quiet about it. 

“Anna!” A concerned voice echoed in the streets of the market. “I told you to not run around! You stubborn imp!”. Draco looked over, and stared at an attractive and tall blonde woman approaching in a rushed pace to the side of the little girl, supposedly named Anna.

“Mumma!” The little girl cried, hiding behind Draco’s legs.

“Come on now, you’re being rude to the nice mister.” The woman smiled at Draco and he looked around, wondering where the hell Granger was.

“My name’s Elsie.” The woman offered, as she dragged the girl to stand by her side.

“Okay…?” Draco stood up, and the muggle seemed to brighten, looking at how much taller he was. “Ah! I’m Dra- Derek!” He corrected himself quickly, trying to remember the agreed upon fake names. “Derek Norfolk, yes. That is my name.”

“Pleasure to meet you!” The woman said, and her little girl waved at the wizard, making him grin and wave back, thoroughly delighted by the cute kid.

"You're very good with her." The mother’s eyes twinkled. “Do you have any kids of your own?”

“No. I just like kids, is all.” 

“Oh!” She smiled deviously, and only Merlin knew what the muggle was going to say, before they were thankfully interrupted by the unpleasant shrill voice of his bushy-haired colleague.

“Derek, darling~” Hermione called out in a clearly exaggerated saccharine tone. “There you are, I’ve been looking for you all day!” She neared the pair and wrapped her arm around Draco’s.

The blonde woman dropped her grin, and scrutinized the brunette that had just approached. “Hello, how may I help you?”

“I’m Helena Norfolk.” Hermione smirked, intending to stop the muggle's advances towards her partner. “My husband and I have been visiting the town for our honeymoon. Isn’t this village amazing? I especially like the woolen dresses the shop dowstreet is selling. They have some very beautiful sheep to provide the wool.” Hermione emphasized the word  _ sheep  _ as if to remind Draco the reason why they were there.

“I like sheep!” The little girl chimed in.

“Beautiful creatures, aren’t they?” Hermione encouraged the girl.

“Sure.” Elsie crossed her arms and soured her expression. “They are more of a hassle if you ask me. My husband raises some. He spends more time and effort taking care of them than he does with me.”

“Oh that’s a shame” Hermione chuckled, and continued on with her ridiculous mocking voice. “But I’m sure he loves you very much! Just like me and my wee Deweck luv each other very much!” 

“Yes, darling.” Draco hissed, thoroughly embarrassed. “Now let’s carry on, then?”

“Wait a second.” Hermione straightened up, reviewing the words the blonde woman had muttered. “Your husband is a shepherd?”

“Yeah, I just said that.” The woman huffed, trying to get away.

“No, wait, did… Did anything happen with his sheep recently?”

“Excuse me?”

“Sorry, it’s just that, at the boutique down the street, some of the vendors talked about some animal attacks and…”

“And my wife here is very nosy!” Draco interrupted, with a smirk and a hand tightly draped around Hermione’s shoulder. “She’s a journalist, you see. It’s in her nature! To just dig around people’s business and get every single fact straight!”

“Daddy’s sad.” The little girl spoke once again, before she could be dragged away by the irritated mother. “Some sheep went to live with Grandma.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, sprog.” Draco looked at the girl that had now a pout on her lips. “Do you think we could talk to your dad?”

The girl perked up. “Yeah! Mumma! Let’s bring them home! Please!”

Elsie stopped for a second, analysing ‘ _ Mr. and Mrs. Norfolk _ ’ ( _ shooting a flirty smile at Draco that Hermione clearly noticed _ ) and finally decided to return a fake smile, and invite them over to her house. “Well then! We don’t get visitors everyday, I think my husband would be delighted to meet you two!”

Hermione allowed the taller woman to take the lead, whilst she held Draco’s arm and stood on the tip of her toes to mumble angrily at the wizard’s ear.

“Why are you flirting with married women?”

“I wasn’t flirting with her, Granger! She’s the one that was flirting with me!”

“Potato, potahto.” Hermione hissed, and Draco furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “Your job is to investigate the case of missing livestock, not sleep around with the locals!”

“Actually, it’s YOUR job to investigate the missing sheep. MY job is to make sure you’re not killed by angry farmers when they see you trespassing their fields! Also, we’re going to a victim’s house thanks to me, so you’re welcome, Mrs. Norfolk.”

“Oh please, if it weren’t for me, that woman would spend hours trying to convince you to make a baby together!” The brunette chuckled, and quickened her pace to keep up with the muggle in front of them. “And you better behave. We’re going to meet her husband, and I don’t want you to cause a cheating scandal, Mr Norfolk.”

At the end of the cobblestone street, there was a small house, surrounded by fields of grass and a barn, in which some sheep were grazing nearby. The little girl, Anna, was waving to the couple, beckoning them to come closer. She then proceeded to point and name some of her favorite sheep, as well as the old bay horse that trotted nearby. 

Draco intently humoured the girl, nodding and commenting on the sheep’s names, which surprised Hermione a bit. She knew the man liked children, but she had never seen him actually interact with one until now. It was undeniably endearing.

Finally, a man stepped out of the barn, with a gleeful border collie by his side. The little blonde child cheered and ran towards him, talking rapidly and gesturing to the couple that stood nearby. 

“Hello, I’m Logan Garrick.” The man said. He had light brown hair and green eyes, not unattractive, to Hermione’s eyes. “You must have met my wife, Elsie. She said you’d join us for dinner?”

“Ah yes. If you’ll have us.” Hermione offered, and the man chuckled.

“Oh course, lass! Dinner will be ready soon, just need to work around the farm for a bit, but you can head inside, my wife will be in there!”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Garrick.” She and Draco exchanged some other pleasantries, but soon huddled back into the warm and comfortable house, finding Elsie preparing food in the kitchen, while a gruffy older man sat on the dinner table, staring angrily at the visitors.

Hermione offered to help Elsie with dinner, and suggested to Draco to just keep the man and the child in the living room occupied, as she knew full well that Malfoy would be useless in a muggle kitchen. Agreeing with the plan, the wizard stayed back, playing with the little girl and tentatively chatting with the other man in the house, who offered very little in terms of levity.

“Beautiful house you have here.” Draco offered, and the man shrugged in irritation. “Erh, you have nice… animals?”

“I like the sheep!” Anna chirped again, and Draco mumbled a weak ‘ _ I know you do _ ’.

“The sheep keeps getting killed by a beast.” The man finally said, with a gravelly voice and a thick scottish accent. “I already told my stupid brother to just shoot the thing and be done with it, but he won’t listen.”

“Sorry?” Draco cringed, praying to Merlin for Hermione’s return.

In the kitchen, the two women listened to the conversation happening in the living room. 

“That’s my brother-in-law, Thomas.” Elsie rolled her eyes and whispered to Hermione while she chopped some carrots.“He fancies himself a hunter, but really, he’s just the village’s idiot.”

“Oh…” Hermione wasn’t sure how to continue the conversation. “He said something about a beast?”

“Argh, don’t even let him get started! He spends hours talking about this supposed monster!”

“It’s true!” Thomas called out, having heard the conversation. “Seen it with my own eyes! A wolf-man prowls the fields.”

“A wolf-man?” Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Aye. Devilish beast that was. Took two sheep with a single bite. I tried shooting it with my rifle, but it didn’t work.”

“Did you miss the shot?” Draco tried to hide his own concern.

“Nah, it’s just that the only thing that kills a wolf-man are silver bullets.”

“Now wait a second!” Hermione raised her voice, with a nervous twitch of her lips. “Werewolves don’t exist. Are you sure it wasn’t a big dog or…?”

“It was a monster. I know what I saw! And I’m going to kill it soon enough” He brandished a revolver that was hidden within his coat, making Draco and Hermione look at each other with apprehension ( _ was this guy just carrying a gun around inside his coat pocket?! _ ). 

“I don’t think you should be going to the forest, sir!” Hermione insisted. “This could be dangerous!”

“Well, someone needs to deal with this devil, before it kills someone!”

“This again, Tommy?” Asked Logan, looking tired and a bit amused, as he entered the house with his dog in tow. “Just ignore my brother. I think mum read him too many fairy tales when he was a babe.”

“But there has been a problem with the livestock?” Draco pressed, and Logan swept a hand in his hair, with a nervous grimace.

“I’m afraid so. Can’t say for sure what’s out there. Not a monster, thought.”

“Sorry to hear about that.” Hermione supplied, helping Elsie settle the dinner at the table.

“At least it’s only been a couple of nights. Still rattles the sheep, and poor old Sonny here.” He patted the border collie on the back. “Anyway, enough of this gloomy subject!”

Although Hermione and Draco wanted to make more questions about the livestock attacks, so that they could progress their investigation, they relented for the sake of not raising suspicions or calling out unwanted attention, making themselves comfortable at the dinner table, and smoothly changing the conversation subject.   


The dinner was surprisingly good, and the company was actually enjoyable. Draco had to ignore some subtle touches, flirty eyes and teasing smirks coming from the muggle wife, and Hermione had to pretend she was writing an article about the many small towns of the Scottish Highlands, to explain their unorthodox choice of a honeymoon location, but all in all, the Garrick family was polite and kind enough to offer plenty of food for two strangers, which was something Hermione was very grateful for. 

By the end of their meal, the waxing gibbous moon was rising in the sky, announcing the ending of the afternoon.

“Now what?” Draco asked with a huff. “Feels like this day had been a waste.”

“Not at all. We got to gather information about this beast. Not a fan of the werewolf theory, though.”

“Be realistic.” Draco chuckled. “How would a werewolf infiltrate a muggle village?”

“I don’t know, but there’s still a beast prowling around. I think we should set down wards in some of the fields, to warn us if anything happens.” Hermione sighed, pulling out her wand subtly to set a charm on the Garrick’s farm. “And I’m kind of worried about that Thomas guy. What if he causes trouble?”

“It will be fine. The man looks barmy, but by the looks of it, his family isn’t too keen on letting him wander around the streets and fields alone at night, so he won’t interfere.”

“You better have your wand at the ready if he does, though. You’re my assigned auror and I don’t feel like getting shot in a town with no real hospital or doctors around.”

“Relax!” Draco chuckled. “No one’s getting shot, I promise.”

After setting up the wards, and disillusioning themselves to scout the area for a few minutes, the two partners didn’t notice anything unusual, and decided to head back to the inn. Hermione did notice an odd yellow light in the distance, that made her wonder if there were any isolated houses back into the forested areas.

When they returned, Mrs. Oakes was still up, talking with her grandsons. The arriving pair chatted with them for a short while, but no relevant information arose from the conversation. Bidding their goodnights, they settled back into the room, scorgifying the sheets, but still finding them atrociously dirty, much to Draco’s chagrin.

\-----

When the morning came, Hermione made sure to check her wards, confirming that none have been activated during the night. With a sigh, the witch and wizard dressed themselves, and together descended the stairs for breakfast. Soon, they were once again out the door of the hostel, walking through the cobblestone streets and actually enjoying the quiet atmosphere of the town.

“Where do we go now?” Malfoy asked, looking at the pub’s entrance, considering the elderly folk that sat on the wooden benches, talking among themselves.

“The church. Our culprit may be a Shuck or a ghost, so it’s likely to stay near graveyards. Maybe the priest will have something to say.”

“Fair enough.”

As they approached the stone church, a middle-aged brown-haired clergyman appeared. Hermione and Malfoy promptly started a conversation with him, claiming to be a newly wedded couple that chose to spend their honeymoon in the sleepy village.

“A wise choice, I’d say.” The priest laughed. “Ignoring the occasional howls, this town is a perfect refuge!”

Hermione’s eyes shone in excitement, feeling the opportunity arise. “Occasional howls?”

“Ah, yes. Nothing major, don’t worry. There might be a stray dog prowling in the woods, it sometimes snacthes a sheep or a chicken, but stays away for most nights.” 

“How strange.” Draco piped in. “Has it always been that way?”

“Not at all! It started recently, in fact, less than a year ago.” 

“And did anything weird happen before this dog showed up?” Hermione asked, praying that the muggle man wouldn’t find her barmy.

"Something weird?" The priest said with a pensive face, adjusting his round glasses on his face. "Some troubled men visited the village by the end of last year. A week or so after they left, some of the folks came to my church to have the sheep blessed. I think this marked the beginning of the attacks."

"Oh?" Draco raised his brow. "And what do you mean by troubled men?"

The young muggle pursed his lips and shook his head. "Lost souls, I'm afraid. It was a group of six or seven men that looked all very battered, some even had scars on their faces. It was like they had gone through a war!"

Both Malfoy and Hermione shuffled slightly on their feet, uncomfortable at the mention of the war, but the priest continued, oblivious to his silent companions.

"They stayed here, sleeping at Madam's Oakes Inn for a little less than a week, but always kept to themselves. Weren’t friendly at all."

"Did they tell you where they were from? Or where they were going?"

"No, Mrs Norfolk." But then, the priest widened his eyes and snapped his fingers, as he remembered something. Rushing into the chapel’s altar, he opened a drawer and pulled out an object to show the couple. "They gave me this, before they departed. They asked me to keep it safe and hidden for them."

It was some sort of crude necklace, made out of bleached bones and animal teeth with scrawly runes carved deeply into it, held together by a black battered rope. Draco somehow looked even paler than usual. He grabbed the necklace, scrutinizing it closer, and Hermione noticed the slight tremble in his hands. “Malfoy?” The witch whispered in concern, but the wizard did not respond.

“Thank you for your time, reverend.” Hermione said, giving him the necklace back.

“It’s a pleasure to be of service!” He smiled. “Will you come to the Sunday mass?”

“We will!” The witch said quickly, as she grabbed Malfoy’s arm and slowly herded the blond away from the churchyard. 

“Malfoy?” She tried again, now that they were away from other people.

“I’ve seen that necklace before, Granger.” Draco hissed. “We’re in deep shit.”

“What? Why?”

“That necklace had the symbol of Greyback’s pack on it.”

Hermione gasped in surprise. Draco ran a hand on his hair, messing it up in frustration. “This can’t be true, Greyback and his pack were killed during the battle, two years ago!”

“Some survived. We have a team of aurors hunting down these werewolves.” Draco breathed out, trying to calm himself down. “Granger, if these ‘troubled men’ were from Greyback’s pack, it means we’re actually dealing with a werewolf.”

“A werewolf that only keeps it to themselves and steals a sheep or two every month?” Hermione tried to come up with more explanations. “The priest also said that they went away. Do you think they are hiding in the forest?”

“I don’t know. We’re gonna have to investigate further.”

“We have a problem, though.” Hermione cringed, and bit her lip nervously.

“What is it?”

“Tonight is the full moon.”

“Well, shit.”


	2. Chapter 2

After talking to the priest and discovering that some werewolves from the former Greyback’s pack had shown up at the village months prior, Draco and Hermione ate a quick lunch in the cheap-looking pub near the church, whilst discussing their next steps into their investigation, with a sense of urgency looming on their minds.

“Maybe we should call for backup? If this is a werewolf, there’s no way we can deal with them alone.” Hermione offered.

“No offense, Granger.” Draco started. “But clearly your boss doesn't give a rat's arse about this case. Considering he appointed us for this job: Two freshly employed kids, fresh out of school.”

“Yeah, I know. I think he’d rather burn any letter that I sent than actually read it.” She conceded, knowing Mr. Collins heavily disliked her for her ‘ _never ending presumptuous nature_ ’. She sighed. “What about sending auror back up?”

“I found out the hard way that the word of an ex-Death Eater doesn't carry much weight around the Auror Department.”

“Well, that’s stupid. Harry says you’re one of the most capable auror in the fields!”

“Capable, maybe. But not trustworthy, at least not in Robard’s eyes.” Draco shrugged, finishing his drink and snatching one of the chips from Granger’s plate, ignoring her glare. “Bottom line is, we’re gonna have to deal with this alone.”

“Hey, at least we’re in this together.” Hermione shot the blond wizard an encouraging smile. “So we might as well brainstorm ideas to catch this beast, whatever it is.”

The two colleagues left the pub with only the barebones of an idea: they knew that lycanthropy was essentially a magical disease. If they could find a magical signature in one or more of the villagers, they could narrow down possible suspects and maybe take them back to the Ministry of Magic to properly deal with the unregistered werewolf, or even possibly detain one or more of the former members of Greyback’s pack.

With time working against them, Hermione and Draco set to work without delay. They tried to act as subtly as they could, casting detection charms on every passerby, trying to pick up magical signatures from the places the sheep had been mangled and snatched, and keeping their eyes open for scarred or flighty individuals. But nobody from that tiny muggle village seemed to have an inkling of magic from inside them, which baffled Hermione, but filled her with hope that perhaps it wasn’t a werewolf problem after all.

With the afternoon sky already turning the deep orange-red hue, the pair knew they were already working on borrowed time. “One last stop.” Hermione begged the man. “There was a light coming from those woods last night. I think there might be something important.”

“Fine, but as soon as we check it out, we go back! I’m not going to have my arse chewed up by a werewolf to save some sheep in the middle of the night!” Draco hissed back, already leading the way through the forested area where the light had appeared.

The pair didn’t have to go too far deep into the woods until they spotted an abandoned house covered in overgrown brambles and moss. There was a clear window on the upper floor, in which Hermione could see a lightbulb fixed on the ceiling, the one that must have been the origin of the light. She pulled out her wand to inspect the area, yet, the detection charms couldn’t pick up any traces of magic inside or near the house.

She held her breath and grabbed Draco’s arm when she thought she saw a shadow pass through the window. “There’s someone living in that house.” Hermione finally breathed out, when Draco pulled her back into the animal tracks to get back to the main town. 

“The sun is setting quickly, we can’t stay here any longer!” Draco hissed.

“What if that’s the werewolf? We can’t just let the fates decide if they’ll kill someone tonight or not!” 

“We don’t have a choice! Use your brains, Granger, this might be someone from the Greyback’s pack. We don’t stand a chance against them! You can't help the muggles if you're dead!”

“Malfoy!”

“Granger!”

“The Norfolk couple!”

They turned around, startled by the familiar third voice. Thomas Garrick, the self-proclaimed hunter was standing before them, his revolver shining brightly against the setting sun and a smug smile on his face. 

“Mr. Garrick!” Hermione cried, with the beginning of a headache creeping into her brain. “What are you doing here?”

“Hunting down a dangerous beast, missy! Now, what are YOU doing here?”

“We were just hiking through the outskirts of the town.” Draco lied smoothly. “And we were just leaving, too.”

“You should come with us, Thomas.” Hermione added. “You shouldn’t be prowling around the woods in the middle of the night!”

The man raised a skeptic eyebrow at the pair, huffing and crossing his arms. “Hiking? I don’t believe it for a second! I know your type.” He barked. “You’re just two heathens! Looking for a shag in the woods!”

“Sir!” Hermione gasped. And Draco stepped between her and the muggle.

“Buddy, I think you should listen to my wife and just scram.” He hissed, looking down onto the shorter man. “Either you come with us, or I’ll go straight to your brother and tell him where you are.”

The man grumbled under his breath, looking at the two visitors glaring at him, in a no nonsense manner. He raised his hands, in a gesture of resignation and joined the couple in their quickened pace back into the town. Hermione nervously looked up at the sky, denoting that they had less than an hour before the moonrise, she felt Draco’s hand squeeze her own, attempting to comfort her. She squeezed his hand back.

They separated from Thomas at the bifurcation of the cobblestone streets. The muggle walked down the narrow road back into his family’s home and the pair walked upwards back into the Mrs. Oakes Inn, basking at the few remaining sun rays. Hermione quietly prayed for the safety of the muggles ( _and the sheep and chickens, too. She couldn't be as indifferent to the animals as Draco was._ )

\-----

They climbed the inn's stair quietly, both carrying a wary look on their faces. The owner of the inn tried to lighten their mood with a cup of tea, but thankfully did not make any questions to the couple. Before Hermione and Draco could properly settle themselves for the night, they both heard a gunshot echoing outside the old dingy inn, making them jump out of their beds to look out the window.

A loud and pained howl was soon followed, and they both bolted out the inn and into the woods, where the sound originated from. If the sound of the gunshot and howls weren’t enough, their frantic footsteps would certainly wake the old lady that owned the inn, but they’d just deal with her afterwards.

At the edge of the forest, near the area they had found the abandoned house, partially hidden by the thick green trees, they could just make out the silhouette of Thomas, reloading his pistol. A shiny silver bullet reflected the light of the imposing full moon that proudly hung in the sky. 

Opposite to the muggle was the beast that had started their mission in the first place: A visibly malnourished and arguably scared werewolf.

The black beast, much larger than a human, limped, growled and snarled, baring his teeth. He adjusted his stance, preparing to pounce onto the huntsman. 

Without the opportunity to draw out an intricate plan with the auror by her side, Hermione decided to act quickly, casting a Petrificus Totalus on the muggle human to stop him from shooting a second round. She turned around to stun the werewolf, but the beast was already leaping towards her with an open mouth.

Hermione, paralysed by the fear of a charging werewolf, dumbly shut her eyes, fully expecting her demise, but she never felt the beast’s teeth sinking into her flesh. Instead, a loud bellow pierced through the air.

“GRANGER!” Draco struggled on the floor, his wand had been thrown haphazardly away from him. The black wolf had locked his mandible in Draco’s left forearm, and started gnawing on his flesh. Startled and in pain, the blond man punched the creature’s nose with his free hand, releasing his arm. 

The werewolf limped back, stunned by the strong jab at his muzzle, and weakened by the silver bullet lodged in his thigh. Malfoy took the opportunity to crawl back closer to his wand, raising it, ready to cast an offensive spell, but struggling to keep the wand steady enough, now that he was heavily bleeding from his wounded arm.

Now, Hermione had to deal with an injured and bleeding auror, a petrified trigger-happy ( _but still conscious and witnessing everything!_ ) muggle and a wounded, but very dangerous werewolf. She breathed in and out, and allowed herself three seconds to panic before she could act.

With a non verbal spell, she bound the beast with silver chains she had managed to transfigure from the silver bullets in Thoma’s holster. She inspected the bullet wound, to attest it wasn't bleeding heavily, so that could wait a minute or two. 

Moving on to her mangled auror partner, Hermione cringed as she watched the poor sod that was writhing in pain from the huge gash on his arm. She had to fight the sudden tears that brimmed her eyes, and meekly muttered an _‘I’m sorry_ ’ that she was sure the wizard did not hear because of his own cries of anguish. 

The wound was far too large for a simple ‘Episkey’ to handle, so she had to deal it with the muggle methods. She pulled several clean rags that she had stored in her trusty beaded bag for emergencies ( _and heavens knew she was in an emergency!_ ) and wrapped it around his forearm, applying pressure and fixing the fabric with bandages.

Lastly, to deal with the petrified muggle. She sighed in defeat, glaring at his wide and scared blue eyes. “I told you not to go to the woods! Repeatedly!” Hermione hissed at the hunter, kicking a nearby rock in frustration. She knew she’d have to obliviate him, and also implant memories that he had shot at a regular grey wolf and the animal had been scared away by the loud gunshot. ‘ _Maybe it had escaped from a far away zoo?_ ’ Hermione thought, trying to come up with an excuse of why a bloody grey wolf would be dallying around the Scottish Highlands.

Deciding to think about the details later, she determined that it was better to come back to the inn to properly heal Draco’s wound. She approached the auror with knitted brows, concerned by how much paler he looked, she asked him how he was faring. 

“I’m fine, Granger.” Draco said with a strain in his voice.“Fuckin’ werewolf munched me like a burger, is all.” he muttered under his breath. 

Hermione helped the blond man get up, and levitated both the hunter and the werewolf with a flick of her wand. They concealed the two bound bodies with a disillusionment charm, and trekked back into the inn. 

“Shit.” Draco snarked, noticing that the hostel’s door was ajar, with the plump silhouette of the sweet Mrs. Oakes peering outside, trying to see what all the commotion was. 

“We’ll have to use a confundus charm on her.” Hermione winced. 

“Merlin’s saggy ball sack. So much for acting muggle. ”

\-----

The way upstairs was laborious, but they managed to bring the two bodies without waking the other guests nor Mrs. Oakes’ grandsons at the inn, which at that point, Hermione would consider a victory.

She busted the door open with her foot, and placed the werewolf on the floor trapping him further with sticking charms. Hermione removed the silver bullet from his leg, and did her best to ignore the pitiful whimpers the beast let out, managing to close the wound with a quick Episkey. Finally, and with not many options left, the witch hauled the wolf into the tiny bathroom, closing the door shut, in an attempt to obstruct his way of murdering them, should he manage to free himself from the silver shackles.

The petrified hunter was placed on the disgusting armchair, still very much conscious and alert. Hermione didn’t want to have to deal with him just yet, and she still had Malfoy to take care of, so she decided that for now, Thomas only deserved a deadly glare with the intention of making him believe he was going to be murdered by the pair of ‘ _heathens_ ’.

Lastly, the witch turned to the wounded man, and deflated when she saw the wizard wistfully looking at his mangled arm as he carefully cradled it. 

"Well, Granger, I've always suspected I'd end up cursed by a werewolf anyway." Draco muttered, quietly, trying not to stain the inn’s bedsheets with his blood.

“Snape even taught me how to brew wolfsbane.” He continued, unfazed by his still bleeding arm. Hermione suspected he was in some sort of state of shock, but she wasn’t sure if she should break his concentration from his ramblings.

"Why did you think that?" Hermione asked, whilst she scoured her beaded bag for the Essence of Dittany she knew she had stored before the travels. She averted her gaze from his face, but she could feel his silver eyes boring holes in the back of her head.

"During the war." he started, with a choked sob in his voice, that betrayed how much his injuries actually hurt. "Greyback used to taunt me a lot, saying he was going to laugh when he destroyed the purity of my family line by making me a half breed."

Hermione found the vial, and approached the wizard, but he continued to hold his arm protectively. He was still talking, so she took the chance to cast a non-verbal Scourgify on his bloodied and dirtied clothes. 

"Snape and I agreed that he was making very real threats. Voldemort could and probably would make me a werewolf to punish me or my father if we ever failed a task. I spent years fearing one day Greyback would show up and mangle me while I slept."

Hermione touched his injured arm softly, and Draco hissed in pain. "Sorry" she muttered, but he chuckled all the same.

His distraction died down when she removed the cap from the glass vial. "This is gonna hurt like a bitch, isn't it?" he asked, with a trembling voice.

"Probably, yeah. Let me see your arm."

He slowly raised his left arm, the one branded by Voldemort years ago.

The forearm had now a large gash running down its length, and several smaller nips scattered around from wrist to elbow. The dried blood contrasted with his pale skin, which reminded Hermione that she should probably give the man a blood replenishing potion to make sure he wouldn’t pass out from blood loss.

She applied the Essence of Dittany and cringed when she heard the sizzling sound of the wound closing up. Draco had his free hand wrapped tightly around the bed frame, with his eyes closed shut in pain. The brunette felt the need to apologise again, but they both knew it was necessary pain. 

She still felt like she should apologise, though. It was her fault that he had been gravely injured.

With the wound still closing up, Hermione administered the blood replenishing potion, and sighed in relief when his color returned slightly, and his breathing seemed to be less shallow and irregular.

After a minute or two, the sizzling noise of the dittany stopped, and the wound had closed up. The wizard opened his eyes and stared at his healed arm. 

He now had a new scar, more ghastly, larger and with an angry red-pink hue that was unpleasant to look at. Yet, it also heavily disfigured his faded dark mark, almost completely erasing the skull and the snake that had previously haunted him for years, replaced by the new scar tissue.

Hermione could have sworn she saw Malfoy smile.

However, the smile had quickly died down, replaced by a somber frown. "Isn't that fucking great?" He muttered, as he opened and closed his hands, testing the movement of his fingers and wrist. "Now I'm going to be shunned for being an ex-death eater, a blood traitor AND a werewolf"

"Hey now." Hermione started with the softest tone she could muster, placing her hand on his shoulder, but he wouldn't look at her. "Not every werewolf bite results in infection! There’s been several reported cases about it!” He looked at her, his silver eyes glaring at her brown ones. “So there might be a chance that nothing will happen!”

He said nothing, but his frown was enough to tell the brunette he didn't believe her. Hermione could even imagine his snarky remark. ‘ _Not everyone can have you blind optimism, Granger_ ’. She was almost disappointed when she realised he would remain silent.

"Even IF you do become a werewolf.” She continued, biting her lip in a nervous twitch. “It's not going to be the end of the world!”

She heard a quiet disagreeing hum, but continued anyway. “There's the wolfsbane, which you already said you know how to brew. And there’s the Werewolf Act that I’m going to present to my boss soon, and Merlin help him if he says anything bad about it because it’s flawless and I know it.”

Malfoy still didn’t bother to reply, now looking dejected, his gaze trailing the stained wood of the floor. “And really the public view of werewolves have been improving greatly since the end of the war!" He snorted, still silently disagreeing with his idealist partner.

“And you have me!” Hermione finished. Placing her hand softly under his chin, to encourage him to look up. “I mean, it, Draco.”

The wizard swallowed a lump on his throat at the mention of his name. He would eternally deny the tears that threatened to fall from his eyes, stubbornly blinking them away.

“I’m a lost cause, Granger.” He said, in a small voice. “You have an entire future ahead of you. I wouldn’t doubt you if you just strutted the auror’s office one day and announced to everyone you are the new Minister of Magic.”

She smiled at his compliment, settling herself more closely to the man. “I’m a different case, though.” He continued, bitterly.

“No, you’re...” She started, but the man interrupted her.

“An ex-death eater! I fought for the wrong side of the war, and lost. And ever since I joined the aurors, and started catching active death eaters, I’m now considered a blood traitor, too!”

It was now Hermione’s turn to remain silent, furrowing her brows, biting her lips and curling her hands in a fist to stop herself from reaching out to the irritated wizard before her. Instead, she decided to just let him voice his own frustrated thoughts, in what she hoped was a cathartic manner.

“I’ve made all the wrong decisions, Granger! Apart from you, my mother and sometimes Potter, nobody talks to me! Everyone is either too scared, too angry or too indifferent to consider me as an actual person. And now!” He snorted with a strange smirk on his face. “Now I’m not even a human being anymore, am I? I’m a half breed! I’ll have to lock myself up in a dungeon somewhere every month or risk getting shot and killed by a random muggle!” 

Hermione said nothing in return. In fact, she was only half listening to Draco’s speech.

Somehow, her still adrenaline-pumped brain convinced her to entertain the thought of analysing the man himself: the way his very large and calloused hands moved to emphasize a point in his dialogue, how good and strong his arms looked, tucked inside the rolled up sleeves of his rumpled oxford shirt, and how his broad shoulders and tall frame made Hermione feel safe throughout their entire mission. How brave and strong he was to have actually tackled and wrestled a werewolf to save her.

Her brown eyes darted to his ever moving lips, which seemed soft and pliant with each word he was forming during his discourse. She couldn’t help but wonder how they would feel like against her own.

"Can I kiss you?" Hermione blurted out before she could stop herself. She blushed profusely when the wizard raised an eyebrow, stopping his self-deprecating rant to stare at her instead.

"What?"

"Im sorry! It's just that... " Hermione jumped from the bed, getting herself away from the wizard. She started to speak, her mind scrambling for words to explain herself. 

"You were saying horrible things about yourself! Things that are just not true! And I wanted to make sure you knew how wrong you were, but I knew you wouldn't listen to me anyway, no matter what I said, so I wanted to show you how much I appreciate you with a kiss, but I don't want to force myself because that would be rude and disrespectful and-"

"And you want to kiss me because you pity me." he said bitterly.

"I want to kiss you because I care about you!" Hermione hissed, her face flushed and her hair puffing up in frustration. "And because I want to!"

Malfoy stopped for a second. His mercurial eyes piercing into her whiskey-colored ones, as if weighing his options.

"Fine. Kiss me then." Draco shrugged, and leaned forward towards the flustered witch.

All of Hermione’s blood rushed to her face and she held her breath, but approached him all the same. The muggleborn thought about asking if he was sure, but was secretly worried he’d change his mind. 

She revelled on the fact that, even as he was sitting on the bed and she was on her feet, the man was still almost eye leveled with her. Being mindful of his recently healed, and probably still sore arm, she placed her hands on his face and pressed her lips against his.

It was a chaste, quick and unfulfilling kiss. She breathed out, and pulled away, but her hands remained in contact with his cheeks.

"May I kiss you too?" Draco asked, after a second of silence

"Of course."

He leaned in again, capturing her lips, this time, with a more rough and passionate force, that evoked a gasp and moan from the back of the witch’s throat. She could feel the smirk forming in his lips, and retaliated by grabbing his hair and pulling lightly. In turn, Draco wrapped his arm on her small waist, and squeezed the supple flesh of her ass with his right hand.

Hermione was delighted to notice she was right about the softness of his lips, and was pleasantly surprised to feel how warm he was, even though he looked so cold most of the time. She gasped and he chuckled when he nipped and licked the skin beneath her ear, and she responded with a kiss on his strong jaw.

They were already fondling each other’s clothes when a sudden thump in the closed bathroom door reminded them that they still had a werewolf and a muggle problem to deal with. 

“God damnit.” She sighed, at the same time Draco snarled “For Salazar’s sake.”

Hermione sighed, placing her forehead against Draco’s. Looking at him in the eye, she whispered to him, with a smile. “I can’t promise you that everything is going to be fine. And I know that you’re probably going to turn into a werewolf every month now.”

The man sighed in defeat, closing his eyes, but a caress of his cheek made him look at the witch before him again. “But I can assure you that you’re not alone, Draco. You have me. I promise I won’t leave you alone!”

“I know. Thank you, Hermione.” Malfoy raised his head and pressed his lips softly into Hermione's forehead.

Hermione and Draco allowed themselves a minute to gather their bearings and even laugh a little at the flabbergasted expression of the petrified muggle ( _It didn't make much of a difference, he’d be obliviated soon, anyway._ ) 

They spared a good hour or two to consider the fake memories they were going to implant on the hunter’s brain so that he could forget the fact that he saw quite a substantial amount of magic and the existence of a werewolf for a single night. Hermione freed him from the petrifying curse, letting him stretch his cramped limbs. 

“I knew you two were heathens!” Thomas shouted with an angry scowl on his face, and Hermione thanked God for remembering to cast a muffliato charm on the room when they entered earlier.

“Well, sure. But we weren’t going to shag in the woods!” Draco hissed back.

“You were going to shag right now! In front of me, no less!” The hunter was going to continue his rant, but Hermione silenced him, in annoyance.

“Well, you put yourself in this situation. So just shut up for a second and let us think.”

While they still worked on crafting a lie that would both convince the hunter and the rest of the villagers that there was no supernatural beast hurting their livestock ( _and that whatever animal that was attacking was now gone_ ), they heard another thump coming from the bathroom.

“I think we should check out the werewolf.”

“Morning should be arriving soon.” Draco responded, clutching his scarred arm in apprehension. “Can’t we wait until he turns back into a human?”

“There’s still something I want to see.” Hermione approached the shut door. “Back in the abandoned house, there wasn’t any magical signature, but the werewolf was inside. It shouldn’t be possible.”

She opened the murky bathroom, allowing the faint flickering lights of the room illuminate the still shackled black werewolf. He was sleeping inside the old bathtub, contorting himself as he tried to get comfortable with the shackles, but his legs were so long and the bathroom was so tiny that with every repositioning and movement, his sharp claws of his feet would scratch and bang against the door.

Having been awakened by the intruding light, the beast opened his yellow eyes, and snarled weakly at the witch. Now that the fast paced action was over, Hermione could properly scrutinize the livestock killer. 

He was small for a fully grown werewolf. 

Still massive when compared to a human, of course, but much smaller than any members of Greyback’s pack. Smaller than Remus, even. 

And he was very thin, as well. Malnourished and weak, considering that Draco managed to stagger him with a simple ( _albeit well-delivered_ ) punch in the snout. Hermione furrowed her brows in concern for the creature’s well being. He looked scared and confused, whimpering softly like a lost puppy.

The witch pulled out her wand and the beast whined and backed itself into the bathtub, fighting against his shackles, seemingly wanting to run away. Draco stepped forward, ready to fire hexes, in case the werewolf regained his strength and aggressiveness, but Hermione placed a gentle hand on the wizard’s arm.

“It’s okay” She cooed at the wolf. “I won’t hurt you.”

Muttering the detection charm, both she and Draco raised an eyebrow when the wand couldn’t pick up any magical properties coming from the werewolf.

“Maybe the charm doesn’t work?” Draco asked, but was proved wrong when Hermione tested it on him, and his magical signature was picked up normally.

“We’ll have to wait until dawn. See if the human can answer a few questions.”

\-----

As it turned out, they didn’t have to wait for long. The sun wasn’t even rising in the horizon when the werewolf began to shift, contort and howl in pain, turning back into a human, revealing a tall and skinny young black-haired man. He silently looked at the witch and the wizard with wide and scared eyes and a tremble on his chapped lips.

Hermione promptly transfigured some clothes for him to wear, and draped a blanket on top of him, to help combat the cold air. He coughed and tried to clear his throat, but the brunette surmised he was probably parched ( _and starving_ ), so she asked Draco to sneak into the kitchens to arrange an early breakfast for the werewolf.

After the wizard’s return with plenty of food and water, the man managed to fill up his stomach with real food ( _i_ _nstead of the raw flesh of poor sheep_ ), brightening up his mood and making him less wary of the people in the inn’s room.

“My name’s Roderick.” The man began. “And I don’t know what happened to me.”

He spent almost an hour detailing his story to the auror and the ministry worker ( _and the muggle hunter, though he could not respond and was wildly ignored by the other occupants of the room_ ). 

Roderick, an 18 year old muggle, was originally from a neighboring small town, when he was snatched away by a group of seven strange men one afternoon. He couldn’t explain what exactly had happened, but as soon as the full moon rose in the sky, the men turned into beasts, and started biting him and hunting him down, like a predator would hunt down a prey.

He was dragged and chased away by these beasts, into the woods. Until morning came and they turned back into men, brandishing the same weird sticks that Draco and Hermione carried. With the sticks, the men did something to Roderick, because he suddenly couldn’t find his way back home, making him wander around the woods, until he stumbled upon the abandoned house, which he used to hide away and tend to his wounds.

Terrified, hurt and alone, Roderick spent months isolating himself in that house, surviving out of petty thievery in the local market during the nights. Occasionally, on full moon nights, he would feel immense amounts of pain and would black out, waking up in the morning back in the house, but covered in blood and surrounded by sheep carcasses, and with no recollection of the events of the nights.

The boy had to stop to regain his composure several times as he recalled the painful memories. Hermione settled by his side with an encouraging arm around his frail waist. “What happened to me? And who are you?” He asked in a trembling voice.

“We’re wizards.” Draco started, feeling empathetic for the kid. At first, he was obviously angry at the werewolf, thinking it was a fugitive criminal, a bloodthirsty member of Greyback’s pack that had attacked and stirred up trouble in the muggle village for the sake of just being evil. But clearly, that wasn’t the case. 

It was just a confused muggle kid. A very unlucky one, at that. 

“Magic is real?” He asked, his eyes shining as his world view shifted completely. Much like Hermione’s eyes must have shone when she herself learned that she was a witch. She smiled, but her expression soon sombered.

“As for what happened to you...” Hermione hesitated. “That’s a bit more complicated.”

They spent some time explaining to Roderick that he was now a werewolf, and that he’d been cursed by those men. His eyes were downcast when he learned that there was no cure for his condition, and that he was now considered a monster. 

“And I cursed you too, didn’t I?” He asked, turning to Draco and eyeing up his scarred arm. “You’re going to be a werewolf too?”

Draco shrugged his shoulders and told him. “Yes, but it doesn’t matter. I knew my job was dangerous and I was fully aware of what I was signing up for when I decided to jump in front of a werewolf. Sorry about the punch, by the way.”

“I guess we’re even, then.” Roderick managed to joke and smile weakly.

Hermione called for the attention of the people in the room with a clap of her hands. “Right! There’s still a lot of work to do! Thomas, do you have any last words before you forget everything about magic and werewolves?” She asked, as she lifted the silencing charm.

“Sorry about shooting ya, kid.” Thomas looked sheepish. “I feel awful thinking about it.”

“Good thing you’re going to forget it then.” Draco huffed. 

“So, here’s how the story is going to go: Last night the giant stray dog that had been stealing livestock for months now ventured too close to the abandoned house in the woods and mauled poor Roderick here. The hunter heard the cries and howls, and shot the dog, taking care of the village’s beast problem.” Hermione started. “We can transfigure the sheeps’ remains inside the house to look like a big stray dog and Roderick, which will give closure to the disappearance of the kid months prior in the other village.”

“Grim.” Roderick sighed, and Draco placed an encouraging hand on his shoulder.

“Still better than the truth, I’m afraid.”

\-----

Hermione and Draco paced lazily around the village, hand in hand, pretending to be the newly wedded couple enjoying their last day of their honeymoon. Neither he nor the witch commented that it was unnecessary to continue feigning to be in love anymore, considering they were leaving already, but both were secretly relishing the contact of their joined hands and occasional hugs. 

They even managed to say their goodbyes to the priest, Logan and his cute daughter ( _though both Draco and Hermione ran off to the other side of the village before Elsie could get a hold of the blond wizard_ ).

After obliviating Thomas and implanting the memories on his mind, Draco and Hermione convinced the muggle werewolf to sleep and rest on the inn’s bed with a diluted dose of dreamless sleep potion, while they worked on the rest of their plan.

They placed the hunter inside the abandoned house, with the transfigured bodies next to him, and decided that it’d be better to run back home before the hunter woke up, in what was probably going to be the biggest scare of his life. “Well, we did warn him to not go to the forest!” Hermione insisted.

Soon, the trio were already making their trek into the isolated woods, to portkey back to London. The werewolf talked the whole way, asking Draco and Hermione hundreds of questions regarding this magical world, and the pair answered each question to the best of their abilities.

\------

When they arrived wizarding London, they immediately directed themselves into St. Mungos, to treat Draco’s and Roderick’s wounds. Where they confirmed that Draco was indeed infected with the lycanthrope curse, and that it could, apparently, infect muggles as well. Draco had already accepted his own fate, but Hermione insisted that she’d always support him. 

The next few days were busy for both Draco and Hermione, as they had to deliver the documents regarding the completed mission on the Scottish village, update the investigation of the fugitives of Greyback’s pack, file the reports about using magic to obliviate and confound muggles in the village, and deal with all the bureaucracy of bringing back a muggle into the wizarding world, and having to register him as a werewolf.

By the end of the week, they were exhausted.

"What happens now?" Draco asked, as they both departed from the small cottage he had gifted to Roderick one morning ' _Because I'm the head of one of the richest, albeit now disgraced houses of wizarding England, so allow me to spend my money however I see fit.'_ the blond wizard had snarked when he shoved the keys of the house to the muggle werewolf.

"Now, you get to take me on a date" Hermione smiled, taking a hold of Draco's hand. He grinned back, in a carefree chuckle.

"A real date, then.” The blonde wizard had joked. “With less sheep and less small town drama, if possible. " 


End file.
